Chicken feed profits for RCL, but miner thrives

ANGLOGOLD Ashanti’s first-half profit more than doubled as a higher gold price boosted revenue and a weaker rand lowered costs. Adjusted headline earnings were $159-million (about R2.14billion) in the first half from $61-million a year earlier.

OFFSHORE investors were net buyers of South African stocks last week, purchasing a net R4.6-billion worth of stocks and R5.3-billion worth of bonds, JSE Securities Exchange data published this week showed.

GROUP Five’s firsthalf profit rose 64%, helped by its toll roads business in Europe, and it expects that a revival in commodity prices will spur mining clients to increase spending on infrastructure projects.

EDUCATION firm Curro Holdings reported a 51% surge in half-year profit, helped by acquisitions and growing demand for private education. Headline earnings increased to 22c per share in the six months to June.

CHICKEN producer RCL Foods said annual profit likely fell 80% after it wrote down $48-million in its milling business and drought hurt its sugar and poultry units. Last year South Africa had the least rain since records began in 1904.

RETAIL sales grew 1.7% year on year in June, after expanding 4.5% in May, data from Stats SA showed. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a 3.8% year-on-year increase in June. On a month-on-month basis sales fell 2%.

BHP Billiton reported an annual net loss of $6.39-billion as the impact of a fatal mine dam disaster in Brazil and weak commodity prices hit the world’s biggest miner. This followed a $1.91-billion net profit the year before.

SOUTH Africa could lose up to 70 000 jobs in the beverage industry due to a proposed tax on sugary drinks, said Phil Gutsche, chairman of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa. The National Treasury has proposed a 20% tax.